Bag filling apparatus with provision for predetermining package size



April 12, 1960 R s LESLIE Filed April 22, 1957 BAG FILLING APPARATUSWITH PROVISION FOR PREDETERMINING PACKAGE SIZE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE NTOR April 12, 1960 2,932,139

R. s. LESLIE BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH PROVISION FOR Filed April 22,1957 PREDETERMINING PACKAGE SIZE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2'I/IIIIIIIIIIIJQ'IIIIIIIIIIII w-Mm INVENTOR BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITHPROVISION FOR PREDETERMINING PACKAGE SIZE Robert S; Leslie, Minneapolis,Minn, assignor to Kenfield Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn., acorporation of Minnesota Application April 22, 1957, Serial No. 654,378

4 Claims. (Cl. 53-188) in freezers for some time before use, and mymethod 7 results in conserving storage space while also providing easyidentification of the package contents; much like the index in a cardfile. Controlling the shape permits making packages which are neat andpleasing in form.

Still further, since many foods such as meat, are naturally of varioussizes and shapes, my invention provides a means to select at will asuitable combination of container and loading fixture. A wide range ofsuch containers and loading fixtures are instantly available to theoperator at all times. Still further, this range of sizes is capable ofchange, so my invention is useful for different applications and notrestricted to a single business.

Another advantage of my invention is in providing means for loadinggreasy materials into heat sealable bags while protecting the heatscalable surface from greasy contamination.

These and other advantages will become apparent from a study of thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view'of one form of my invention set up foruse.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of loading tray.

Figure 3 is a clip used to connect the loading tray and the supportingstructure.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the tray supporting 1 structure.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the structure shown inFigure 4.

Figure 6 is another form of supporting structure with attached clips andtray shown in cross section.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a shelf with adjustable backstop.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the pusher used in conjunction withthe loading fixture.

Figure 9 is an alternate form of clip shown in cross section.

Throughout all of these drawings, similar numerals refer to similarparts. Referring to Figure 1 shows a bench comprising a top surface 11supported by two vertical panels 1212. Above the table and withinconvenient reaching distance of the operator is a cabinet 14 held inplace by two supporting members 13-13.

This cabinet is used to hold a supply of bags 16 of different sizes. Inorder to keep these bags separated into separate stacks, the cabinet isdivided into compartments such as indicated generally by the numeral 15.A series of'vertical dividers 18 are used to divide the cabinet for bagsof dilferent widths and girths. In some businesses these dividers may beaffixed permanently to the cabinet shell, but where the sizes may varyfrom time to time, it is also possible that these dividers may beadjusted so that the bag widths may vary. In the case of Figure 1, thenarrowest bags are placed at the extreme left side of the cabinet andthe widest bags at the extreme right side of the cabinet. This mightfrequently be the most convenient arrangement, but where some particularbag width is used more frequently than others, a dilferent arrangementis, of course, quite possible.

In addition to the variation in bag width, it is also necessary, inorder to package a variety of different sized products, to have avariety of bag lengths. For this purpose, I provide a series of shelves17 and these shelves are of a uniform length from front to back butdiffer in width by convenient increments corresponding to the variouswidths of bags being used. These shelves are supported on clips 23 whichare attached to perforated metal strips 24. Each of the dividers, andalso the inside surfaces of the cabinet ends, are provided with theseperforated metal trips so that the shelves are supported on each side ofthe front and back.

This arrangement permits adjusting the vertical space in the variouscompartments in accord with the quantity of bags of the different sizesrequired.

' I have found that in nearly every installation certain sizes are usedgreater quantities than others and they have taken the foregoing meansto provide a bag supply that takes this into account. On the left handside of each compartment is a grooved metal frame 22. This frame ispainted with a color which serves as an indicia corresponding to a givenbag width, thus the narrowest bag might be arbitrarily coded as Red, thenext larger width as Orange, following size as Yellow, etc. Small cards18, 19, 20, 21 are slid into place and held frictionally by the sides ofthe groove. These cards hear an indicia of a second class, such asnumbers or letters, to distinguish from the indicia of the first classmentioned earlier which consists, in this case, of colors.

If it is desired to change the sizes of bags frequently, the colorindicia can consist of colored cardboard slipped in the intervalsbetween the lettered cards, and these colored cards can then be readilychanged for rearranging the bag stock. On the table is indicated a heatsealing machine 25 having a foot pedal control 26 connected thereto byan electric cord '27. Since the heat sealing machine is not part of mypresent invention, I have shown it Without specific detail. To the leftof this machine, also resting on the table top, is a base 28 having anopening at the front 29 through which air blasts can escape when thevalve lever 30 is depressed. In order to supply this air blast there isa blower 31 aflixed to the rear of the base and driven by an electricmotor 32. Also affixed to the base 28 is a circular post 36. Metal clipssuch as indicated by the numeral 37 couple loading trays 33, 34, 35 tothis column. In this particular installation, there are spacing collars38-38 separating these clips so that each of the trays can be swung outof the way or into use, as desired. In Figure 1, tray 33 is positionedfor use while trays 34 and 35 are swung to one side to permit freeaccess to the particular loading tray in service. A pusher 74 isindicated in its normal position in tray 33. Each of the trays has asimilar pusher, but of a size adapted to fill the width of the tray.

I have shown three loading trays assembled to form a loading fixture. Inactual installations, the number of trays required varies widely, and Ihave found that while a. few trays may sufiice for a short timeadditional trays are sometimes needed and in Figure 1 I show such additional trays 40 stored in compartments 39 beneath the table. These arethus readily available and because all of the trays are interchangeablymounted by means of clips, it takes but a moment to lift one tray ofithe clip and replace it with another, and this without disturbing any ofthe other trays, clips or spacing collars.

Figure 2 shows one of these loading trays 41 in greater detail. Thistray is made of metal, and stainless steel is particularly useful wherefood products are being packaged. It is convenient to form this tray ofa single piece of metal having a bottom 43 and two sides formed at rightangles 44-44. A back 48 is also formed from thesame metal and a flange45 is provided at the 'top of the back portion. Also welded to the back48 are two formed metal plates 47. The purpose of these formed plates isto cooperate with the clip, as will be explained a little later. Thesides 44-44 are sloped smoothly in a sort of S-curve at the front endsas denoted by the numeral 42. At several points along one side of thetray are indentations 58, 59, 60 which are used as measuring points.

It will be readily understood that for a tray of given dimensions therewill be a corresponding bag width which will just properly fit over theloading tray, neither too loosely nor too tightly. The fit of thisloading tray will be determined by its girth. It will also be apparentthat there may be several trays of different dimensions which will fit asingle bag. For example, a tray by having sides one inch high and havinga width between the sides of six inches would have the same girth asanother tray which had sides three inches high and awidth of four inchesbetween the sides. In every case, there is a fixed correspondencebetween the loading tray and the appropriate size of bag to be used withit. It is, for this purpose I use an indicia of one class such as color,and both'the bag storage compartment and the loading tray bear thisindicia to denote the proper bag to use with a given tray. Any portionof the tray may bear this color indicia, but I have found it convenientand satisfactory to place this color as a patch on the back flange ofthe tray, as indicated by the numeral 46.

In order to establish the proper length of bag required, use is made ofthe indentations 58, 59, 60. These are placed at a given distance fromthe extreme open end of the tray and correspond to a bag length toenable the operator to quickly gauge the length of the product beingpackaged and to select a corresponding bag length. These indentationsmay be numbered or lettered to correspond with the same class of indiciaused in the bag cabinet, but I have found that this is reallyunnecessary since the operator quickly learns that the first notchcorresponds to bag length A, second notch B, etc.

I also have found that operators using my invention designate bag sizesnot by their dimension in inches, but simply by their indicia such asRed B, etc.

The base 28 of the loading fixture is shown in greater detail in Figure4, in which the base 28 proper is. Extending longitudinally through thisbase is an air channel- 51. The rear of this channel is afiixed to ablower 31 having an air inlet 49 and a driving motor 32. The air outletpasses through the opening 50 into the air channel 51. The forwardend'of this air channel is normally closed by means of a valve, shown indetail in Figure 5. The valve gate 62 is normally held closed by aspring 63 which is loaded in place through an opening in the upper partof the base 28 and is thereafter closed by a plug 64. The gate hassecured to it by means of a rivet 61, a handle 30. It will be obviousthat pressing down on the handle 30 permits the air to flow through theair channel and supplies a blast of air which is used to blow open themouth of the bag prior to placing of this bag on a loading tray.

The needs of various industries differ from each other so that I havefound that various arrangements for holding the loading trays areadvantageous. Now, referring to Figure 6, a different form of base 65 isemployed and this has a post 66 to which two clips 37-37 are nested.

In this case, it is easy to swing the trays around the post,.

bringing either one of them into operating position at the same level.In this case, the bag opening blast of air is supplied through a hose 67from a compressor, which is not shown, and furnished to a nozzle 63which is clamped to the base or post by a clamp 69 having a thumb screw70 for ready adjustment. duces an air jet adjacent to the loading trayso that merely bringing the bag in front of the tray and approximatelyin position to slip it over the tray causes the air blast to open thebag. It will also be seen that this arrangement can be used with morethan two trays-in fact, four trays can be accommodated with clips ofproper dimension.

Figure 3 illustrates such a clip. The top and bottom of this clip isbent at right angles to the body to form tabs 53 and 54, and these tabshave coaxial round openings 55 and 56, the size to permit them to fitfreely on the 1 supporting posts previously described. Two extensionswithout having to devote special attention to this process.v

on the sides of the clip denoted by the numeral 57 are" designed toengage with the formed metal plates 47 in the loading tray, as shown inFigure 2. The flange 45 rests on the top of the clip 37 so that it issecurely held.

In the previous illustrations, I have shown the loading trays in ahorizontal position, and this is a common ar-- rangement. However, it issometimes an advantage to slant these trays, tilting them so the openend is either lower or high than the back. Obviously, if we were load-,

ing ball bearings, it would be an advantage to have the gravity retainthese bearings within the tray prior to transfer to the bag. On theother hand, with meat, which has considerable adhesion to the loadingtray, it is convenient to tilt the loading tray in the opposite mannerand the clip shown in Figure 9 makes this possible. It will be notedthat the main body of this clip is not parallel to the angle of theholes and 56 in the tabs 53 and 54. In

order to aid in the transfer of the product being packaged.

from the tray to the bag, a pusher 74 is provided, as illustrated inFigure 8. This has a raised portion 75, which serves as a handle, and aramming portion 76 extending forward of this handle. The normal positionfor this pusher is at the back of the tray. The pusher is long enough tofit snugly but freely between the sides 4444 of the loading tray. Thereis another feature of my invention which is illustrated in Figure 7.Since the bags are supplied in various lengths, it is convenient to havean adjustable backstop so that the bags are all of a uniform distancefrom the front of the cabinets. This makes it easy for the operator toautomatically reach for a bag As I have previously explained, theshelves in my bag cabinet may be positioned, in some cases, closetogether and, in others, considerable separation may be involved.

I have devised a convenient backstop that will meet this I condition.

numeral 71. The small angle clip is adjustable in this slot and may beclamped at any given point by a screw, accessible from the bottom of theshelf which is not specifically shown. An arm 73 is frictionally pivotedat 74. This arm may be brought down fiat against the shelf or may beswiveled to extend vertically and thus can serve as a backstop for thebags, regardless of the spacing between shelves. Since the materialsused in making heat scalable bags are more expensive than ordinarywrapping paper, rigorous economy of material is important. I have foundthat by using my invention a degree of standardization in bag sizes maybe obtained This arrangement pro- The shelf 17 is slotted as denoted bythe.

It will be realized that this, being a natural product, comes in varioussizes and cuts. Meat is also a greasy product and if it is insertedmanually in a bag of heat scalable material, this grease contaminatesthe sealing surface so that it is dithcult to make a permanent andsatisfactory seal. This is particularly true when the packages areevacuated prior to sealing and a fully sealed vacuum package leaks airso that the advantages of vacuum sealing are lost.

The loading trays used in my invention provide a fourfold service. Theyare used to measure'the product and to add in the selection of correctbag sizes; they permit the operator to quickly form the meat into acompact and regular shape that will make the most eificient use of thecontaining material; they aid in inserting the meat in the'bag and theyprotect the interior surface of the bag from being contaminated bygrease.

The operator selects a tray of appropriate size for the particular cutof meat to be packaged. The pusher normally rests at the back of thetray, as shown in Figure 1. Since meat is somewhat plastic, the operatorcan mold it to fit into a more or less rectangular shape. This is a veryrapid process since the two sides of the tray confine the meat laterallyand the operator, by drawing the pusher forward, will almost, more orless, form the back side of the cut square with the sides of the tray.In doing this, the operator brings the remaining side of the cut of themeat near to the open end of the tray. The operator selects the correctbag size by noting the color indicia of the tray which, l haveexplained, is a measure of the girth, and noting the notch of the leftside of the tray, she can at once pick out the bag which is the correctlength. Bringing this bag near the front of the base, where the opening29 is located, a touch of her hand on the valve lever 3d causes a blastof air to be released which blows the lips of the bag apart and opensit, ready for immediate placement over the loading tray. She slides thisbag over the tray, the tapered front edges at the side distending thebag which rides up the inclined sides and over the contents of the tray.It will be understood that she pushes this bag as far as it will go overthe tray and the product contained therein. Grasping the handle of thepusher with one hand, she draws it toward her, whereupon the meat isfirst pushed into contact with the bottom of the bag and as movement ofthe pusher is continued, the bag and the meat slide together off the endof the loading tray and into her other hand. At this point, theoperation of loading the bag is complete and ready to be placed in thesealer.

Normally a jaw-type sealer is used which produces a heat seal across themouth of the bag. After sealing, this constitutes a flap, and in myinvention I use this flap for marking so that the contents of eachpackage is clearly shown.

Usually following the packaging and sealing of meat products, thepackage goes to a freezer and results in a fiat, roughly rectangularpackage which is adapted to be stored in stacks. mentioned above extendbeyond the package and serve as a filing system. The housewife can go toher freezer and by running her finger down the protruding flaps, canfind any particular cut of meat that she desires without having todisturb the stacking. I

Another advantage of meat packaged in the manner I have described isthat it can be quickly thawed while These flaps carrying the marking.

I have described my invention and its use with par- 5 ticular referenceto the packaging of meats but, of course, it will be obvious that itsuse is not in any way limited to this type of product.

I claim: 1. Equipment useful in packaging comprising a base, supportingmeans afiixed to said base, adapted to hold at least one loading tray,said loading trays bearing an indicia of one class used to denote thegirth of said tray, a series of indicia of a second class placed atintervals along said tray, said second class of indicia adapted to beused as a measure of length for any product placed in said tray andindicating the proper length of container for use in packaging saidproduct,;a bag cabinet divided into a plurality of compartments, saidcompartments bearing indicia corresponding to the aforesaid indicia onthe loading tray and denoting the corresponding bag size.

2. Equipment useful in packaging comprising a base, supporting meansaffixed to said base, adapted to hold at least one loading tray, saidloading tray bearing an indicia of one class used to denote the girth ofsaid tray, a series of indicia of a second class placed at intervalsalong said tray, said second class of indicia adapted to be used as ameasure of length for any product placed in said tray and indicating theproper length of container for use in packaging said product, a bagcabinet divided into a plurality of compartments, said compartmentsbearing indicia corresponding to the aforesaid indicia on the loadingtrays and denoting the corresponding bag size, a pusher normally restingat the back of said loading tray and adapted to be manually moved in apath longitudinal to said tray for the purpose of transferring the traycontents to a container.

3. An apparatus useful in packaging comprising a base, upstandingsupporting means aflixed to said base, a tray mounted on the upstandingsupporting means and extending outwardly therefrom, an air channelthrough said base, a blower connected to one end of said air channel, anorifice at the opposite end of the air channel, a valve in said airchannel, and a lever associated with said valve to permit opening saidorifice for the passage of air blast-when desired.

4. Apparatus used for packaging charges of materials of varying lengthscomprising, a tray having a bottom and a pair of spaced upstandingsidewalls, defining a chamber for receiving a charge of material to bepackaged, said tray terminating in an open bag receiving delivery end,indicia means located at spaced intervals along the length of the trayfor denoting the length of the charge of material placed in the tray,and means for storing and typing a plurality of bags having lengthscorresponding to said indicia means in readiness for dispensing.

References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,046,488 Pauley Dec. 10, 1912 1,238,215 Terrell Aug. 28, 1917 1,351,372Conine Aug. 21, 1920 1,367,245 Ebrenz Feb. 1, 1 921 2,075,129 Olund Mar.30, 1937 2,568,593 Ortstein Sept. 18, 1951 2,685,996 Shofiner et al Aug.10, 1954

